This short story collection is the outcome of the writing residency for African women writers held in Jinja, Uganda, in January 2011. Writers from across English-speaking Africa contribute stories as diverse as the continent itself, stories that explore universal concerns in acutely individual ways. Among others, an upper-class Ghanaian confronts the irony of race from a prison cell; a Zambian mourns her sister and tackles the restrictions of tradition in a surprisingly humorous way; in Tanzania, two strangers go to extremes to seek elusive health; a Ugandan housewife reflects on personal and world politics as she watches a dog fight; another Ghanaian remembers a love affair that led her into an ancestor's embrace; two Nigerians shopping in London get more than they bargained for; and in a 2011 Caine Prize nominated story by Ugandan writer Beatrice Lamwaka children cry tears of pain and happiness during an armed conflict.

A secret grave is unearthed in the desert revealing the bodies of 19 women and the shocking truth that a serial killer has been operating undetected in Jeddah for more than a decade. However, lead inspector Ibrahim Zahrani is distracted by a mystery closer to home. His mistress has suddenly disappeared, but he cannot report her missing since adultery is punishable by death. With nowhere to turn, Ibrahim brings the case to Katya, one of the few women in the police department. Drawn into both investigations, she must be increasingly careful to hide a secret of her own.

Portraying the lives of women in one of the most closed cultures in the world, award-winning author Zoë Ferraris weaves a tale of psychological suspense around an elusive serial killer and the sinister forces trafficking in human lives in Saudi Arabia.

Mma has just buried her mother, and now she is alone. She has been left everything. But she's also inherited her mother's bad name. A bold, brash woman, the only thing her mother refused to discuss was her past. Why did she flee her family and bring her daughter to a new town when she was a baby? What was she escaping from? Abandoned now, Mma has no knowledge of her father or her family—but she is desperate to find out. Night Dancer is a powerful and moving novel about the relationship between mothers and daughters, about the bonds of family, about knowing when to fulfil your duty, and when you must be brave enough not to. Presenting a vista of Nigeria over the past half-century, it is a vibrant and heartfelt exploration of one woman's search for belonging.